Improvement-in horseshoe-calks



UNITED STATES lPATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK VALK, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT -IN HORSESHOE'CALKS.

Specification forming part 0f Letters Patent No. l 79,827, dated July 11, 1876; application tiled January 10, 1876.

To all whomzt may concern The object of my invention is to so con.

struct a horseshoe as to prevent the undue wearing of the body ot' the shoe, and to provide for the ready removal and replacing ot' the toe and heel-calks, and this object I attain in the manner which I will now proceed to describe, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a vertical section of my improved horseshoe, with one ot' the heel-calks also in section; Fig. 2, a transverse section on the line l 2; Fig. 3, a perspective view of the toe of thp shoe with the parts detached from each other; and Fig. 4, an inverted perspective view of the detachable toe-plate and calk.

A is the body' of the shoe, which is recessed on the under side at the front a for t-he reception ofthe projection b on a detachable plate,

B, having anges d d, by means of which it can be secured to the body Aby bolts e. The projection b is slotted for the reception ot' a tongue,j`, on the toe-calli D, which is secured in position in the present instance bymeans ot' a key, g, driven through an opening, It, in the tonguef, and bearing against the inner edges of the plate B,Vas shown in Fig. 1.

Lateral steadiness ot' the toe-calli is insured partly by the curve ot' the front ot' the shoe, but more especially by a projection, t', on thc calli, this projection fitting into a recess formed in the plate B, and a lip, m, on the calk overlapping and protecting the edges of this recess. The front of the cal k D is carried upward beyond the top of the shoe and forms a hoofguard, E.

rlhe heel-ealk which I prefer to use in connection with the above-described toe-calli, is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and consists of a block, F, and guard or calk G. The block F has a stem, n, adapted to a vertical slot near the end of the bodyA ofthe shoe, and retained in position therein by a transverse pin, o, and

the lower portion of the block is grooved for the reception of ribs on the upper edge of the guard or calk G, which is ,closed at the front, so as to protect the front edge of the block F, and is secured to the latter by means of a transverse key, p.

The above-described devices form a means ot' providing a horseshoe with ealks which can Vbe readily attached or detached, the only extra labor incurred by the blacksmith in preparing the shoe for their reception being the formation otl thel recess a at the front and a slot in each of the rear ends of the shoe.

The detachable'toe plate and calk and heel block and guard, which lI propose to make ot' cast-iron or steel, can be produced 'at a cost of but a few cents each, and, when the plate B and block F are once applied, the toe and heel calks can be removed and replaced, and the horse either rongh-shod or smooth-shed in a t'ew moments, and without the aid of` any special tools.

Owing to the construction ofthe toe and heel calks the plate B and block F are amply protected, and are not lia-ble to fracture from sudden blows or shocks.

Different modes of securing the toe-call( to A the plate B, and ot' attaching the latter to the shoe, may be substituted for those shown and described, as will be evident without further description.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination ofthe body A of the shoe `and its recess e with the detachable toe-plate 

